Back to Botswana

Botswana is so special you can’t keep us away. After New Year in the Caprivi we returned to Botswana. This time to the Chobe area.
We could not believe that at the Ngoma Bridge border the Chobe was not flowing at all. About 18 months earlier we had difficulty getting to Chobe Lodge, where Max was working, due to flooding. He had to guide us to the lodge using a special route.

Our second shock came when we could not get a campsite at The Chobe Safari lodge. It was full! So were other campsitea we tried in Kasane.

Fortunately we’d been told of an amazing campsite near Kasangula on the Hunter’s road; The Senyati Safari Camp.

Luck was once again on our side. We got a site with private ablutions and a covered stoep. The real bonus was to come that evening after sunset. Senyati’s floodlight waterhole.

We had so looked forward to staying at the Chobe Safari Lodge campsite that we decided to return to Kasane and have another attempt.
Senyati is located almost on the Hunter’s Road, which runs along the border between Botswana and Zimbabwe. We choose this route to return to the Kasangula border post.

What a treat! We saw lots of game and we felt quite a rush too as we probably strayed over the border at times.

There was no problem getting a campsite this time. We got the one alongside where we’d stayed with Keith and Tickey.

Chobe Sunset

Our journey continued a few days later southwards to Elephant Sands. We made an attempt to travel along the Hunter’s Road but gave up not wanting to risk it alone. There were patches of sticky cotton soil mud on the route and we might have got stuck if we’d continued. We had enjoyed being on our own but this was one of those occasions we needed someboby as backup.
For those of you that have never been to Elephant Sands you might have heard that it’s a bit like being in large zoo. The animals are so dependant on the waterhole that they just have to visit. But what makes it real is the fact that there are no fences and the animals walk right amongst the campers.

Unfortunately it’s difficult to exclude the chalets from the photos.

We were amazed at the inovation of some people…..using a mosquito net instead of a tent! So much more comfortable in the heat.

But it’s not easy to take down afterwards.

Sometimes the elephants came real close

A really worthwhile stopover on our penultimate night in Botswana.

What lay ahead was a long drive to the Tuli Block. We’d been advised by other travellers that it was possible to cross the Limpopo this year because of the drought. The river was not flowing! This occurs sometimes during winter but seldom in summer. The so called rainy season!

We’d never been to the Tuli before due to its location in an out of the way corner of Botswana. It’s a fairly mountainous region which makes it very beautiful and different to the plains and pans we were familiar with. In fact, similar to the Motopos in Zimbabwe across the border.

We came across this Elephant carcass in a dry river bed at the boundary of Motswari.

Our campsite right next to the Limpopo under these huge Nyala Berry trees.

Look carefully and you’ll see Solveig walking across the Limpopo River!

After a very hot, dry and wonderful six weeks we were back in South Africa where our journey continues. …..

Share this:

Like this:

LikeLoading...

Related

Author: Ian & Solveig's Overland Adventures

Although we never achieved our original goal of reaching Norway overland, our experience was so unexpectedly rewarding that we've not been able to settled down again!
So we added new destinations to our lust for adventure.
We hope that you will join us in sharing new exciting places and encounters with the amazing people we meet along the way.
View all posts by Ian & Solveig's Overland Adventures